20 Reasons Why I Hate Having Social Anxiety

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A List of 20 Reasons Why I Hate Having Social Anxiety (And You Probably Do Too)

Are you stuck and feel like you just have to give in to your social anxiety and give up? See if the following 20 reasons why I hate having social anxiety resonate with you. You might be surprised what you learn along the way.

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1. Social anxiety means not thinking in a logical way. It makes you think that people are talking about you, judging you, or otherwise thinking badly of you when in reality, they probably aren’t noticing you at all.

2. Social anxiety interferes with things career-wise. It means you probably avoid jobs dealing with the public, freak out about job interviews, and couldn’t imagine taking a job that involved any form of public speaking.

3. You are imprisoned by your social anxiety. You might literally be a prisoner in your house or just not have any friends. Your social calendar is non-existent and nobody ever comes around to check on you.

4. Social anxiety is bad for your health. Being in a constant state of arousal is obviously not helping your physical health. Plus, not going to the gym because you’re afraid people are staring at you means that you aren’t making progress on your weight loss or fitness goals.

5. Social anxiety does not make you a better person. When your social anxiety takes hold, you just aren’t that fun to be around. You avoid eye contact, fail to make introductions, and have trouble keeping up your end of the conversation.

6. Social anxiety wastes your time. So much of your life is wasted worrying, avoiding, and preparing mentally for the worst.

7. Social anxiety isn’t well understood by others. Since it’s “all in your head,” they might think you’re just making it up or making things into more than they are. If it was a physical illness, others would find it easier to understand that you needed medication or maybe to see a professional about it.

8. Social anxiety detracts from yourself-confidence. Being around other people reminds you of your social anxiety and erodes your self-confidence.

9. Social anxiety makes you feel like crap. You can’t sleep because you’re worried about events that are happening weeks or months in the future.

10. Social anxiety is not easy to explain to others. Everyone has a bit of anxiety about social interaction, so it’s incredibly difficult to convey to others how badly your social anxiety makes you feel.

11. Social anxiety makes you invisible to the opposite sex. You probably fear talking to people you find attractive or may try online dating without success.

12. Social anxiety makes life hard. You are always the one who gets left behind in conversations. Oral presentations and other performances are nearly impossible.

13. Social anxiety makes life less fun. You never know when you’re going to have a full-blown panic attack. Every social encounter is a new chance at embarrassment. You live in fear instead of in the moment.

14. Social anxiety prevents you from living your life to the fullest. You feel as though you will never live the life of your dreams.

15. Social anxiety stops you from thinking clearly and solving problems. Your mind is rarely clear and you have trouble staying calm when faced with challenging situations.

16. You are ashamed of your social anxiety. It makes you feel ashamed and embarrassed to be socially anxious.

17. Social anxiety depletes your energy. You feel drained at the thought of facing each day.

18. Social anxiety takes away from the person you could be. You feel like you are not the person you could truly be because of your social anxiety.

19. Social anxiety means you are never carefree. There is never really a time that you don’t have a care in the world.

20. Social anxiety lies to you. It feels like it’s an important part of who you are but it’s lying to you. It feels like something that can’t be changed but that’s not true.

Look back over these 20 statements and see how you feel. Do you feel angry that social anxiety is controlling your life? Are you ready to make a change?

As much as avoidance and safety behaviors might feel like they are protecting you, in the long run, they are preventing you from living your fullest life. But it’s only when you get to the point of deciding to make a change that things will start to turn around.

20 Reasons Why I Hate Having Social Anxiety

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